hartwell



i No. 6|8,347. 'Patented Jan. 24, I899. i J. E. HARTWELL. ROTARY STEAM ENGINE.

(Application filed July 21, 1897.

1 1 (No Model.) 1

56 35 am Z5 m: Nolwvs PETERS on PbfOYD-LITHQ, WASHINGTON, n. c.

No. '6l8,347. Patented Ian. 24, I899. J. E. HARTWELL.

ROTARY STEAM ENGINE.

(Application filed July 21, 1897.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(N0 Model.) I

7 i E g A. E: w 2 2 w \lv M a 1 an C 6 b 0 e /M m W d @wvtmao No. 6|8,347. Patented Jan. 24, I899.

.1. EfHARTWELL.

ROTARY AM ENGINE.

(Application July 21, 1897.)

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JACOB E. IIARTIVELL, OF TROY, MONTANA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ALONZO E. CABLE AND DAVID T. WOOD, OF SAME PLACE.

ROTARY STEAM-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 618,347, dated January 24, 1899.

Application filed July 21, 1897. $erial No. 645,425. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JACOB E. HARTW'ELL, of Troy, in the county of Flathead and State of Montana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Steam-Engines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in rotary steam-engines, the object of the invention being to provide an engine of this general character which is simple and comparatively cheap in construction and possesses the more important advantage of being very effective in operation, developing a maximum power from the steam which is expended thereon and including the feature of being reversible.

The invention consists of the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts,which will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the drawings which form a part of this specification, Figure 1 is an elevation of a rotary steam-engine constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view. Fig. 3 is an end view with the fly-wheel and eccentric removed. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view through the supply and exhaust pipes. Fig. 5 is a view with one section of the cylinder-removed. Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail view of one of the wings of the piston, showing the manner of applying the packing-strips thereto. Fig. 7 is a detail sectional View on the line :0 0c of Fig. 1. Fig. 8 is a sectional view showing the means of connection between the steam-actuated packing-strip and the abutment, and Fig. 9 is a vertical cross-section through the abutment.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 designates the bed-plate upon which the engine is mounted, the cylinder being made up of two sections, a stationary section 2 and a removable section 3, the latter being connected to the stationary section by means of bolts. In order to insure a proper connection between the sections of the cylinder, said sections are provided with flanges having reg isterin g boltholes and clamping suitable packing-rings between them. Passing through the cylinder is a horizontal shaft 4, suitable stufiing-boxes being employed to present steamtight joints, and upon this shaft, within the cylinder, is mounted a cylindrical piston 5, having wings 6 projecting beyond the periphery of the same, said wings being extended laterally and the cylinder-heads or sections having corresponding grooves, in which said wings travel. The grooves which are formed in the cylinder-heads are ground smooth, and the wings of the piston are provided with packingstrips 7 to prevent the escape of steam. In order to provide for conveniently removing the detachable section or cylinderhead, the same is provided with a hook 8, to

which is connected a block and tackle 9, supported by an arm 10 on an upright or post 11, which may form a continuation of one of the posts which support the main shaft of the engme.

Formed in the upper end of the cylinder is a casing 12, in which operates a sliding abutment 13, having operating-rods 14.- 14:, which passthrough the casing and are supported at their outer ends by brackets 15, extending from said casing. The abutment is adapted to extend across the upper part of the cylinder above the cylindrical piston, and in order to provide a tight joint between said abutment and the piston the former carries vertically-movable packing strips or plates 16, adapted to be raised by aspring 17 when the pressure of steam upon the piston is removed. The said packing strips or plates 16 are mounted and operated as follows: The abutment 13 is formed with circular recesses 13 upon opposite sides thereof, and the packing strips or plates 16 fit and move in and are guided by openings llgwhich extend from the lower edge of the recesses 18 in planes parallel to the sides of said abutment. Then the abutment is in its innermost position-that is,within the cylinder of the engine-the pressure of steam upon one side or the other thereof will force one of the packing-strips 16 down, into close contact with the outer periphery of the piston 5, forming a steam-tight joint. The lower edges of the strips 16 will of course be shaped to conform to the curvature of the periphery of the piston 5. lVhen the pressure of steam upon the abutment 13 is released, the packing-strips 16 are elevated by means of the springs 17,admitting of the ready withdrawal of the abutment from the cylinder to its casing. In additon to the packing strips 16, which engage the piston, the said abutment may also be provided with packingstrips to prevent the escape of steam around the ends of the same. The said abutment operates in con j uction with the wings of the piston, forming partitions or impact-walls for the steam, and in order to move the same to permit the wings to pass the eccentric 18 is provided for the purpose, mounted upon the main shaft and having a cam-groove 19, engaging rollers 20 on depending arms 21 of the rod 14, the grooves in the eccentric being arranged to move the abutment out of the cylinder and within the casing at the proper time.

Ports 22 and 23 open into the cylinder at opposite sides of the abutment 13, and connected with these ports are pipes 24 and 25, which extend into the valve-casing 26, supported upon the base or bed plate of the engine, opening into chambers 24 and 25 in the casing, which communicate with a central chamber 28, from which the exhaustpipe 27 leads. lVith the interior of the casing 27 communicates the steam-supply pipe 29, leading from the boiler. Within the chambers of the valve-casing 26 are positioned swinging valves 30, 31, and 32, arranged to establish communication between the intermediate or steam chamber and either one of the chambers which communicate with the pipes leading to the ports, the said valves 30 and 32 being so arranged that when the steam is being let into one chamber the opening from without communicating with the other chamber will be closed and the valve in-the other chamber 31 thrown to open communication with the exhaust-pipe, while the valve in the chamber receiving steam from the steam-chamber is thrown to close the opening leading to its exhaust-pipe. The valve 31 is secured to a rod or shaft 33, upon which it is mounted to turn, the said rod or shaft having a crank-arm 34 upon one end. To this crank-arm is attached a pitman 35, which is pivoted to an operating-lever 36, fulcrumed upon a suitable bracket on the baseplate 1. The valves 30 and 32 are secured, re.- spectively, to rods or shafts 37 and 38, having crank-arms 39 and i0 upon the projecting ends thereof,which crank-arms are connected to the crank-arm 34: on the rod or shaft 33 by links or pitmen 41 and 42. The crankarms 34, 39, and are parallel one to the other; but the arms 39 and 40 extend from the rods or shafts on which they are formed in a direction opposite that from which the crank arm 34 extends from its shaft 33. By this construction it will be seen that by moving the operating-lever 36 in one direction or the other the valves 30, 31, and 32 will be moved simultaneously, the valves 30 and 32 in one direction and the valve 31 in the opposite direction.

It will be understood, of course, that the valve-seats with which the valves engage are provided with the usual packing-strips. Upon the main shaft is mounted an ordinary flywheel to give the proper throw or steady movement to the engine.

From the foregoing description, in connection with the accompanying drawings,the construction and operation of my improved r0- tary steam-engine will. be apparent, for when the valve mechanism which controls the admission of steam is thrown to admit the steam through the port 23 into the cylinder said steam will be confined between the abutment 13 and the adjoining wing, pushing upon the latter to turn the piston, the abutment moving into the casing to permit the next wing to pass the same and returning into the cylinder when said wing passes the inlet-port, it being understood that the port 22 forms the exhaustport. In order to reverse the direction of the engine, the lever 36, controlling the valve mechanism, is thrown, which changes the admission of steam from the port 23 to the port 22, the said port 23 then becoming the exhaust-port. From this it will be seen that I provide a rotary steam-engine which can be quickly reversed and in which a maximum power will be required. It will also be observed that the engine can be built to occupy a minimum amount of space, as the cylinder and the mechanism for operating the piston are compactly arranged.

It will of course be understood that during the operation of the engine the steam will be admitted to the valve-chest 26 through one end or the other of the steam-supply pipe 29. In the position in which the valves are shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings the steam would enter at the left-hand end of the pipe 29 and pass up through the pipe 24:, through the port 23 into the cylinder, performing the work it is designed to do therein, and afterward return through the port 22 and pipe 25 back into the steam-chest 26,and thence out through the exhaust-pipe 27. When it is desired to reverse the engine, the operating-lever 36 is moved to the opposite end of its stroke, shifting the valves 30, 31, and 32 to the opposite sides of the chambers, in which they are mounted. Steam would then enter through the right-hand end of the inlet or supply pipe 29 and a reverse operation to that just described would be performed.

The speed of the engine is controlled by any approved style of governor employed in connection with steam-engines, and as I lay no claim to its mechanism I have not illustrated or described the same herein.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a rotary engine, a cylinder, a rotary piston therein, an abutment adapted to enter bers in said chest, inlet and exhaust pipes leading from said chambers and communicating with said cylinder, and swinging valves in said chambers adapted to be operated simultaneously and in opposite directions, as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination with the cylinder and piston of a rotary engine, of valve mechanism, comprising a chest, supply-pipes entering the same from opposite sides, a plurality of chambers in said chest, inlet and exhaust pipes leading from said chambers and communicating with said cylinder, swinging valves in said chambers, rods or shafts to which said Valves are secured and upon which the same are pivotally mounted extending through said chest, and provided with crank-arms, an operating-lever connected to the crank-arm of one of said rods or shafts, and links or pitmen connecting said crank-arm with the crank-arms on the other of said rods or shafts.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JACOB E. I-IARTVELL.

\Vitnesses:

JOHN CONWAY, GEO. F. FOLLMER. 

